Elite Affiliates

Simon Cowell is an English TV personality, producer and A&R (artist-and-repertoire) executive. He is best known for judging TV talent shows, including Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and American Idol. Simon Cowell became a household name in the United States for his trademark bluntness and eye for talent on American Idol. Not only is Cowell frank, he is also known for his controversial insults, criticisms and wisecracks about contestants and their singing abilities, or lack thereof. Because of his unique trait, Simon Cowell first started on American Idol with plenty of hate coming from both the contestants and viewers, but as the show progressed and people began seeing that Cowell’s opinions were spot on, contestants valued Cowell’s advice and viewers started listening to what Simon Cowell had to say.

Cowell is also the owner of the UK-based TV production and music publishing house Syco – the company behind “American Inventor” and “America’s Got Talent.” With the help of Syco, Simon Cowell has helped the musical careers of various recording artists, including Leona Lewis and the pop-opera quartet, Il Divo. Cowell is also known for combining activities in the music and television industries, selling more than 150 million records and 70 top-charting singles both in the UK and United States throughout his 16-year stay with Sony BMG.

Entertainment Weekly named Simon Cowell as one of the 2004 Top Entertainers of the Year. In 2006, Simon Cowell was named Variety’s UK Personality of the Year. By 2007, Cowell received two acknowledgements; he ranked number 3 on the Forbes TV Faces List and 21st on Forbes Celebrity 100 Power List.

In 2006, Simon Cowell continued his judging duties on American Idol with a contract of $40 million per season until 2011. Since Cowell is tied to FOX’s American Idol, he made a deal with FOX network to allow his production company Syco to broadcast American Inventor and America’s Got Talent on other networks. FOX agreed as long as he does not appear on both shows. Although Simon Cowell is an icon in the United States, he remains active in the UK television by signing a deal with ITV, which is worth £6.5 million a year for three years, for the British singing talent show, ‘The X Factor.’ Cowell’s production does not stop there – he is still venturing into other music-themed projects, such as the tentative show “Star Struck.”

Regardless of what he does, Simon Cowell remains an invaluable part of American Idol, which fans has come to love and cannot get enough of.
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